High-net-worth individuals embracing cryptocurrencies, study finds

JOHANNESBURG - Cryptocurrencies are the “future of money” and wealthy investors seem to agree.

This is according to Nigel Green, chief executive of international financial services organisation the deVere Group.

The group, which launched the deVere Crypto app earlier this year, asked high-net-worth individuals about their exposure to cryptocurrencies as part of a global survey. The findings revealed that more than a third of wealthy individuals either have exposure to cryptocurrencies, or they intend investing by the end of 2018.

Green said the survey’s results demonstrate that high-net-worth individuals cannot ignore the huge potential of cryptocurrencies.

“Public awareness of the value, need, and demand for digital currencies is surging,” Green said.

“I expect that interest will grow exponentially in the next year with improvements in the technology that underpins it, as financial institutions embrace it, and as regulation is developed.”

He said more than 600 people living in South Africa, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, the UAE, Qatar, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Spain, France, and Germany participated in the poll.

Green added that users of the deVere crypto app wanted an ever-wider, diversified portfolio, as digital currencies move further into the mainstream.

“All the digital coins available on deVere Crypto have different characteristics, strengths and values. The new additions help to achieve portfolio diversification, and their individual traits make them useful in different ways for investors,” Green concluded.